Today was a really productive day and I've finally established a routine: Wake up, get ready, eat breakfast, paint, drink tea, paint, read my Marian Keyes book, paint, think about painting, paint, see if Sergei is in the kitchen, eat, paint, blog. I've realized if I ever decide to become a full time artist, I'd be fat. Mainly because eating and painting are my two favorite things.

Onto art related topics: As I have mentioned, Mooste is only accessible by car or bus from Tartu. On the day I arrived into Estonia I had to take two buses, the first from Tallinn to Tartu and then one from Tartu to Mooste. On the latter leg of the trip I waited in the Tartu bus terminal where I encountered a man. Since the waiting room of the bus terminal was full I opted for waiting in the area outside where the buses arrive and depart.

On my way to the outdoor space I had to pass through a corridor where there was a haggard man prompted against the wall, head down and eyes closed. As I walked closer to pass him, you could easily conclude his state was alcohol induced. Just as I was a foot or so away from him, as if on cue his head flung up and looked straight at me and said "Hello, my darling!" Then went back to his previous position without missing a beat. This struck me as odd and somewhat comical, but thought nothing of it.

A few days after this incident a number of us were sitting around the dinner table when the topic of the surrounding areas in rural Estonia came up. The conversation turned from admiring the beautiful countryside to the high unemployment in many communities. It was explained that the high unemployment was due to lack of rural area industries. I then learned that a large percentage of the population in the areas surrounding Mooste struggle with alcoholism. This conversation made be begin to think of the incident in the bus terminal that I simply laughed off. In this painting I wanted to capture the solemn expression of the man from the station as well as the frustration of many of the families who are dealing with issues of alcoholism in these rural communities.

Very deep... amazing how things like addiction can be traced back to societal issues. To me the portrait really embodies both the personal and family struggles of addiction.

Reply

Neal

3/7/2012 01:29:13 am

Good point DJ. Here you have captured not only the affluent social issues but also the industrial struggles they seem to face. This picture really speaks for Estonia (well one side of its many faces i assume).